Erica Wheeler path from a dangerous neighborhood in Miami all the way to the WNBA was atypical. From losing her mother unexpectedly to dealing with the realities of lower-level international hoops, her positive attitude is inspiring.

On the 45th anniversary of Title IX, it is important to remember the women’s sports trailblazers. Michigan’s Carol Hutchins was a great athlete and has become college softball’s all-time winningest coach. But her more important contributors have come in fighting for opportunities for female athletes. In a story for espnW, I look back at Hutch’s Title IX history.

As part of espnW’s “Women with Cool Sports Jobs” series, I profiled Susan Lulgjuraj, the marketing communications manager for The Topps Company. You may remember Susan’s cameo in my story about baseball card collecting. In this article, she goes more in-depth about her job. If you know any women with a “cool” job related to sports in some way, let me know.

Tommy Ramos is the softball coach at Midland, a junior college in Texas. Fed up with his team’s poor facilities and the administration’s unwillingness to make improvements, he filed a Title IX lawsuit against the school.

It’s been quite the last two months for Lexi Thompson, the 22-year-old star of the LPGA Tour. After being robbed of a major championship, she bounced back last week to dominate the field. She shoots for a second straight victory this weekend and is primed to become an even bigger attraction.

The Michigan Softball Academy, held for the eighth straight year last week, allows adults to take the field and learn from the sport’s all-time winningest coach and her players, all while raising more than $130,000 for breast cancer research.